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Wednesday 16 December 2015

Onitsha Residents Cry Out Over Military Harassment


Onitsha Residents Cry Out Over Military Harassment


Two weeks after Biafra demonstration in Onitsha, Anambra state, residents of the area took to the streets again.

Pro-Biafran protesters in Onitsha, Anambra state.
On Monday, December 14, the residents came out en masse to protest against the continuing harassment by soldiers in parts of the area.

The Punch reports that the protesters were led by civil rights groups under the aegis of Campaign for Democracy and Civil Liberties Organisation.

The activists converged on the Uga junction, Fegge Onitsha from where they marched through Zik Avenue to Owerri Road through Awka road. They were carrying placards with inscriptions: “Military Presence Unacceptable To Us”, “Release Nandi Kane Now”, “We Need Peace In Onitsha”, “FG Withdraw JTF In Onitsha”.

Leaders of the protest, Comrades Uzor A. Uzor and Aloysius User, said that their aim was to express their disapproval of the presence of the soldiers in the area.

“Extortion has also been part of the intimidation by the soldiers who now have field day harassing the people and asking them to hands up as they pass through the military check-points,” they said.

The residents expressed concern that Onitsha had been turned into a battlefield as a result of military presence. Therefore, they called on President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene and avert more economic hardship on the people of the area.

Speaking with journalists, Alloy Attah, the chairman of Civil Liberty Organisation in Anambra, blasted the soldiers for intimidating the local people.

“They maltreat innocent citizens, it is beyond telling them to raise their arms, the okada and Keke riders suffer a lot in their hands.

“They arrest innocent people, hound them into their vehicles until they part with some money, they were not called here to terrorise Onitsha residents but to safeguard them.

“They should pull them out and investigate some of these issues; we are on our part compiling our reports on the human rights abuses by these people.”

In his reaction, Hassan Karma, the state commissioner of police, urged the public to be patient. Justifying the presence of the security agencies in the area, he noted that they restored peace and normalcy within a short time.

However, the police commander assured people that he would investigate cases of alleged harassment of local people.
Meanwhile, the Indigenous People of Biafra are planning to storm Lagos and stage a protest there on December 16, 17.

“All those residing in Lagos are enjoined to come out en masse as we intend to visit major part of Lagos, including World Power Embassies in Lagos,” the group stated.

In a swift reaction, the Lagos state chapter of the All Progressives Congress issued a warning to the pro-Biafra activists.


The party stressed that the state would not allow politically sponsored hoodlums masquerading as pro-Biafran protesters or any other group to plunge Lagos into crisis.

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